0:10
hi I'm Dustin Abbott and I'm here for
0:12
the second annual da Awards the time of
0:15
year where I look back over the reviews
0:17
I have done throughout the year and I
0:20
look over what kind of stands out to me
0:23
the reviews that of of products that I
0:26
feel have been exceptional and the
0:27
things that have Stand Out stood out in
0:29
various categor that we'll get to here
0:30
today as I looked back over the various
0:33
reviews that I did I did 108 reviews
0:36
over the course of the year as I look
0:38
back over the course of the year I'm
0:40
looking at a number of different
0:41
categories and so we're going to give
0:43
outwards in these various categories and
0:45
that includes camera there's about eight
0:47
different camera reviews that I did zoom
0:49
lenses of which I did 12 or 13 and a
0:52
variety of different platforms then
0:54
we'll look at budget apsc primes and
0:56
when I Define budget as being $600 or
0:59
less then we'll also look at fullframe
1:03
budget primes again with that under $600
1:06
category we'll also give awards for
1:08
premium prime lenses and that is defined
1:10
as being over $600 and so that can
1:12
include apsc fullframe or medium format
1:16
anything that's in the premium category
1:19
so let's jump into the awards for the
1:20
year our first category is the camera of
1:23
the Year our runner up this year is
1:25
fujifilm's gfx 100s Mark II which really
1:28
brought medium format into into the
1:30
truly budget category where it's
1:32
affordable even for those that typically
1:34
might buy full frame my winner however
1:36
even though it's not new this year it
1:37
was new to me and also I believe that
1:40
it's has become a more competitive
1:41
camera through the process of firmware
1:44
updates and that is Nikon's Z8 this is a
1:47
camera that I have really thoroughly
1:49
enjoyed it is just good at so many
1:52
things and really for the the money I
1:54
think is one of the best value cameras
1:56
on the market I also appreciate the fact
1:58
that as has opened up to third party
2:01
lenses they've done so without really
2:03
any kind of restriction so what I'm
2:05
finding is that a lot of these lenses
2:06
that I've previously tested on Sony for
2:09
example actually like better on Nikon
2:11
because I'm able to get Full Burst
2:13
speeds and also stabilization seems to
2:16
work a little bit better they just seem
2:17
to work a little bit more natively in
2:19
general so loving the camera and I give
2:22
High marks to that our second category
2:24
that we're going to award in is the zoom
2:26
lens of the year I actually have a few
2:30
honorable mentions that I want to
2:31
mention here one is sigma's 28 to 45mm
2:35
f1.8 while it is somewhat of a niche
2:37
lens I also think that it shows that
2:40
Sigma continues to try to push the
2:41
boundaries and to offer up options that
2:43
are not run-of-the-mill and they are
2:46
very unique I also noted that tamron's
2:48
50 to 300 mm VC lens is just a really
2:52
really well executed lens very optically
2:54
sound very high performing did a great
2:57
job however our runner up this this year
3:00
goes to sigma's 28 to 105 mm f2.8 art
3:04
series lens now I recognize that such a
3:07
lens has previously existed on the Canon
3:10
front before but Sigma did something
3:12
quite similar at a much lower price
3:15
point and also much lighter and smaller
3:18
as well however the 2024 da award goes
3:21
to the Sony 28 to 70 mm F2 GM it is just
3:25
an amazingly good lens and they managed
3:28
to do a lens that is just so consistent
3:30
optically all throughout the zoom range
3:33
very very high performing but it's not a
3:35
soulless lens I felt like the rendering
3:37
was still quite good from it and so I
3:40
want to give the award this year to that
3:43
really unique lens our third category is
3:46
in the budget apsc primelens under
3:49
$600 the runner up this year is young
3:51
new's 33mm f1.4 pro I came into 2024 not
3:57
necessarily with an overall positive
3:59
view of Y to them uh some of the early
4:01
lenses that I saw from them tended to
4:03
just be kind of clones cheap clones
4:06
knockoffs of existing Optical formulas
4:08
from Canon for example but yno has
4:11
really started to chart their own course
4:13
and this particular series that they
4:14
call the commander series that this lens
4:16
is from are lenses that are just really
4:18
good they are uh very featur rich they
4:22
have some unique Design Elements to them
4:24
and they're really strong performing
4:25
lenses while still at very much a budget
4:28
price my winner how however this year
4:30
goes to the vro AF 35mm f1.7 this is a
4:34
lens whose review I actually haven't
4:36
released at the time that I'm filming
4:39
this video but will have been released
4:40
by the time that this video goes public
4:43
and this is the most recent of their air
4:44
series lens and I really feel like VTR
4:47
is nailing it with their air series
4:49
creating lenses that are inexpensive
4:52
lightweight which is what the whole air
4:54
is about but also just really really
4:57
good lenses and this is a surprisingly
4:59
good lens that I think is really
5:01
competitive even with I happen to review
5:03
it on Fuji I think that it does a pretty
5:05
decent job of giving the much more
5:08
expensive uh Fuji 35mm
5:11
f1.4 a run for the money and so kudos to
5:15
them for continuing to really push the
5:17
envelope and develop a lot of really
5:20
really excellent lenses and so they get
5:22
the award this year our fourth category
5:24
is budget full-frame prime lenses and so
5:27
to get a good fullframe lens for under
5:30
$600 is uh you know it's not necessarily
5:33
a common thing but we are seeing more
5:35
and more excellent lenses coming in this
5:37
category so I want to acknowledge a
5:40
couple of Runner UPS the first is the
5:42
Siri Aurora 885mm f1.4 it's got a lot of
5:46
attention and I think deservedly so
5:48
because it's a fullframe 885mm f1.4
5:51
prime that you can get for under $500
5:54
right now and that's pretty fantastic
5:56
but there's also another really
5:58
inexpensive 85mm lens that I want to
6:00
acknowledge and that's the S Artis AF 85
6:04
f1.8 this is a lens that can be had for
6:06
around $200 but is surprisingly good
6:09
optically is quite nicely built it just
6:12
performs really quite well and so I
6:17
acknowledging my winner however actually
6:20
goes to a first-party lens and in this
6:21
case it's the Nicor Z 50 millimeter f1.4
6:25
and the reason why it wins the award is
6:27
that it just does everything quite well
6:30
and it is a 50mm f1.4 from one of the
6:33
first-party brands that can be had for
6:35
under $500 that is so rare these days
6:38
and I want to I want to acknowledge
6:41
Nikon in doing this and releasing a a
6:43
lens that I think is desirable on its
6:45
own route right but it is also
6:47
affordable so kudos to them our fifth
6:50
category is in the premium prime lens
6:53
category and again I got a few Runner
6:55
ups that I want to acknowledge it's
6:56
actually a pair of 500 mm lenses one is
6:59
the Sigma 500 mm f5.6 sport which is
7:02
basically the type of lens that a lot of
7:04
us say that we want and while the price
7:07
was a little more expensive than what I
7:09
had hoped for a lens like that it is a
7:11
really high-performing lens and if
7:13
you're looking for a 500 MIM Prime on
7:16
either e Mount or L mount it really is a
7:19
very impressive lens the other is the
7:22
Fuji non GF 500 mm f5.6 that lens is
7:26
very very good optically and while I'm
7:27
not convinced that the G DFX platform is
7:30
quite there in terms of autofocus to
7:32
really make a lens like that sing I
7:34
really have to appreciate Fuji pushing
7:36
out uh medium format into uh areas that
7:40
have kind of previously been Uncharted
7:42
before and if they really want to make
7:44
that platform an alternative to full
7:47
frame I think lenses like this are
7:48
required and it happens to be a really
7:50
really nice lens as well my winner
7:53
however goes to this lens right here
7:55
which is the vro lab 135 mm f1.8
8:00
I have been looking forward to the lab
8:01
series arriving uh vrs kind of released
8:04
the road map and let us know that the
8:06
lab series was coming but vro has been
8:09
doing such a good job in lens designs
8:11
and the idea that this was going to be
8:12
kind of their premium lineup uh came
8:15
with a lot of expectations and this is a
8:17
lens I think that has realized those it
8:19
is extremely featur it is optically
8:21
amazing and the fact that it is so good
8:24
optically and comes at a price tag of
8:26
around 800 bucks is pretty exceptional
8:29
and it's going to compete and does
8:31
compete with lenses that cost much more
8:33
than it and does so very very
8:36
effectively so I also like to award the
8:38
company that I feel like had the best
8:41
year and as I look back over the year
8:42
and the various releases that were there
8:45
I want to give this year's award to the
8:47
company Sigma I think that Sigma kind of
8:50
did the most this year they had creative
8:52
zooms including the 28 to 105 f2.8 the
8:56
28 to 45 mm f1.8 they had great primes
9:00
like the 50mm f1.2 the 15mm f1.4 fishy
9:04
lens and also they were the first to
9:06
bring thirdparty lenses to Canon RFS
9:09
which is great and so I I want to award
9:12
them I also want to say Bravo to all the
9:15
companies that dip their toes into
9:16
autofocus this year lawa seven Artisans
9:19
TT Artisans they really are kind of
9:22
advancing the ball and so
9:23
congratulations to them how about the
9:26
lens that most surprised me this year
9:29
that lens goes to the Nick orz 50mm f1.4
9:32
not because a 50mm f1.4 is a unique or
9:35
surprising lens but rather that this
9:38
lens was released by a first-party
9:40
company to where they went ahead and
9:43
released a lens that is competitively
9:45
priced and really has enough going on in
9:48
all the different departments to be
9:49
desirable on its own Merit I'm just it's
9:52
not a lens I would have been surprised
9:54
by 10 years ago but it's a lens that I
9:56
am surprised by here today particularly
9:58
when there are so many first-party
10:00
lenses that are coming that are just
10:02
always priced so high this is a good
10:04
lens that people can actually afford so
10:06
that's a surprise my most disappointing
10:09
lens of the year and I really hate this
10:11
to be the case because I was
10:13
anticipating it but it is Canon's RF
10:15
35mm f1.4 vcm lens there are things
10:19
about the lens that I really like it's
10:20
got great autofocus it's very sharp but
10:24
it also has a tremendous amount of
10:26
distortion it has some design um FL laws
10:29
or design choices that I just don't
10:31
think make a lot of sense and for a lens
10:34
that cost as much as what it does I was
10:37
just somewhat disappointed by it even
10:38
though I think it's a very good lens and
10:40
if you've bought it I hope that you're
10:42
enjoying it as I look back at what was
10:45
my most popular review of 2024 that
10:48
award goes to a video called a three-way
10:50
comparison between the Fuji um standard
10:54
zooms including the Sigma 18 to 15 mm
10:57
Fuji 16 to 55 mm f2.8 Fuji 18 to 55 mm
11:01
f/2.8 to F4 is shows that there still is
11:05
some legs on the Fuji platform and
11:08
people are definitely interested in that
11:10
what was my least popular review of 2024
11:14
it was for the Aeros Zoom acoustic wedge
11:16
tiles and I released that video towards
11:19
the beginning of of 2024 and it got only
11:23
756 views for the entire year and it
11:26
netted me minus 6 subscribers I didn't
11:29
gain subscribers I lost subscribers over
11:31
that review so you won an award as well
11:35
I did add something this year as well
11:36
and that was the reader Choice Award
11:38
I've done polls on YouTube over the last
11:41
several weeks and so when I gave you the
11:43
option in three different categories you
11:45
came back with the top camera of the
11:48
ones that I had reviewed as the Sony a7c
11:51
and that was by a whisker over the Nikon
11:54
Z8 in the top zoom lens the ward went to
11:58
the Sony 28 to 70 mm F2 and that was
12:01
over the next competing lens was a sigma
12:04
28 to 105 f2.8 the best prime lens
12:08
actually lined up with what I gave the
12:10
award to and it was the vro lab 135mm
12:14
f1.8 but only by 1% over Sony's 85 MIM
12:18
f1.4 gm2 a lens that was really
12:22
excellent but in my mind it was
12:24
incredible in some areas and not
12:26
mindblowing in others and so uh that was
12:30
very closely your favorite as well and
12:33
so there you have it that is the 2024
12:36
Awards it's been a great year of doing
12:37
reviews and I thank you for being a
12:39
great audience so many interesting
12:41
things that I've had the opportunity to
12:42
cover this year and I hope that it's
12:44
been a great photography year for you as
12:46
well here's looking ahead to 2025 hoping
12:49
that the best is yet to come I'm Dustin
12:52
Abbott as always thanks for watching
12:53
have a great day and let the light in